Why I am a Deist

Like many others throughout the United States, I decided at a fairly young age to become a Christian by going forward and accepting Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. At this time, my convictions weren’t exactly strong. I went forward because some of my friends were Christians, I had been going to church all my life, and I was at a Christian event. Circumstances just came together for me.

Throughout the next 10 years or so, I dove head-first into the world of Church and Christianity. I was reading books on Christian Apologetics, learning all I could about the intellectual properties of being a Christian. I served in Church, went to Sunday school, and attended and even led a bible study group. However, I still question to this day whether my devotion was heartfelt or a sense of responsibility.

Over the past couple of years I have gone through a real soul-searching period of my life. After examining what I truly believed, I realized that I cannot honestly proclaim myself to be a Christian. I have too many problems with the tenants of Christianity as well as organized religion. Instead, I discovered that my beliefs tend toward the path of Humanism. I do believe in the natural goodness of humanity, the beauty of our creativity, and especially our incredible power of reasoning.

Unfortunately, in visiting many Humanist websites today, instead of honest articles written in the interest of the human condition, I find vitriolic attacks on religion and those who believe in God. There must be another way. While I don’t hold to the tenants of Christianity, I feel no animosity toward it.

Enter Deism.

Deism, that old form of belief system that seems to have disappeared since the age of the founding fathers, is truly where I seem to have found a home. I now consider myself a Deist because:

1. I believe that nature loudly proclaims an intelligent Creator;

2. I believe that humans’ ability to reason not only separates us from lower animals, but also gives us the incredible ability to fix our own problems; and

3. I cannot, as a matter of conscience, choose to believe in any religion that proclaims to be the only way to eternal life.

I list number 3 above not as a matter of “fairness” (i.e. what about those who never heard of Christianity, Islam, whatever), but as a matter of intellectual honesty. After examining my time as a Christian, I discovered that I never truly had a “relationship” with Jesus Christ, although I certainly prayed to, and thought I did. Instead, I was believing in the divinity of Jesus so he would save me from eternal damnation. This is, I believe, horribly self-serving. The simple thought of entering a relationship with anyone, purely to use that person, is among the highest “sins” that man can commit.

There are many other reasons for my leaving Christianity, including my inability to comprehend any rhyme or reason to the entire Christian story. That is, perhaps, a later post. For my purposes here and now:

I love humanity, I love being a human; I believe that humans have incredible potential for advancement and world stabilization through our reason; I love nature, I believe that nature loudly proclaims a creator; and I love the peace of knowing that at the end of the day, all that really matters, is how I lived today.